The 2026 World Cup was supposed to be a celebration of scale. 48 teams, three host nations, and a projected $9 billion in FIFA revenue. Instead, the tournament is becoming a case study in what happens when global sport collides with American political ambition, and the fallout is rippling into corners of the market that most football fans never think about.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino and US President Donald Trump have drawn sharp criticism for what observers describe as a cozy arrangement: Trump leveraging the world’s most-watched sporting event to burnish his image, and Infantino appearing willing to accommodate.
The blockchain underneath the pitch
Back in 2022, FIFA partnered with Algorand to launch its digital asset strategy. That collaboration produced FIFA+ Collect, an NFT platform designed to give fans tradeable digital collectibles tied to the beautiful game.
Then FIFA changed its mind. By May 2025, the organization had ditched Algorand and migrated its entire blockchain operation to Avalanche. FIFA now runs a dedicated layer-1 blockchain built on Avalanche’s infrastructure, purpose-built for fan engagement and digital collectibles.
